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Star Log: January 2001

1. Like many discoverers, Giuseppe Piazzi was looking for something quite different than that which made him famous. Piazzi was the monk in charge of the Sicilian observatory at Palermo and spent most of his time studying the positions and motions of stars. On the first day of the 19th century, 200 years ago today, Piazzi discovered the first and largest of the solar system's several thousand minor planets. To honor his island and its traditional patroness among the classical gods, he named his discovery Ceres.

2. How appropriate. The very first lunar phase of the new year is first quarter phase, arriving at 4:31 p.m. The waxing moon will be on display above the southern horizon as early as 7 p.m., with the constellation Cetus (the whale) as a backdrop. This is the 42nd anniversary of Luna I, the very first space probe sent to the moon by the Soviet Union. If the moon isn't exciting enough for you, help yourself to a fine view of Jupiter and Saturn, still holding forth in the constellation Taurus.

4. Although it has only a minor effect on our seasons, the Earth's orbit is not perfectly circular. In fact, our closest approach to the sun comes today, right in the deepest part of northern winter. Being a few percent closer to the sun than average clearly doesn't outweigh the shorter hours of daylight and lower inclination angle for the sun in our winter months.

7. Galileo's earliest use of astronomical telescopes led him to see known bodies in a new way -- the spotted surface of the sun, the mountains of the moon, the rings of Saturn. On this date in 1610, Galileo found something previously unknown with his telescope -- the four largest moons of Jupiter.

9. The moon will be full at 2:24 p.m. and will manage to dip into Earth's deep shadow for a couple of hours. From the time of day, you may infer that this event will not benefit eclipse fans in the western hemisphere; we'll miss the entire eclipse, as the moon won't rise with the stars of Gemini until about 6 p.m.

10. The Signal Corps of the U.S. Army was the brainchild of a civil war surgeon who thought that trained signalmen could do a better job of sending messages between units. From flags to telegraphy, the Signal Corps progressed through the age of radar and on this date in 1946 bounced the very first signal off the surface of the moon.

12. Thomas Henderson analyzed the first measurement of a star's distance using a technique similar to surveyor's triangulation 162 years ago this month. Henderson chose Alpha Centauri, one of the brightest stars in the sky and readily visible from the Cape of Good Hope, where he was astronomer royal.

16. For those who need major reasons to get up before 7 a.m., here's a few to consider. The moon will be at third quarter phase at 6:35 a.m., right as it is nicely positioned above the southern horizon. Its starry companion is one of the brightest stars in the sky, lovely Spica, the bright princess of the constellation Virgo. But wait, there's more! Off to the left of the moon we find Mars, about as bright as Spica but distinctly redder in color. Mars is near a star that may not be among the brightest in the sky but surely has one of the best names -- Zubenelgenubi, in the constellation Libra.

18. This is a terrific month for the most recognizable constellation in the sky, mighty Orion. Orion truly resembles the imposing hunter of his story. His sword can be seen hanging from the three belt stars; brilliant Betelgeuse marks the shoulder of the hunter's raised arm, while his right foot is the equally bright blue star,Rigel. If you follow the line of the belt stars to the lower left of the hunter, you'll find the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, star alpha of the constellation Canis Major, the greater dog.

20. In astronomy, there is always more than meets the eye, at least the unaided eye. If you look eastward at about 6 a.m., you'll see the waning moon with Mars to its upper right. The moon and Mars lie along the invisible trace of the solar system plane, as does the sun, still below the horizon. Between the moon and the sun lies Ceres, the largest asteroid, discovered 200 years ago this month. Pluto is in the same part of the sky, but is even fainter than Ceres. You would need a telescope to find either object.

24. Another lunar month begins at 5:07 a.m. with the first new moon phase of the year. The moon is now far enough south of the sun that there is no chance of an eclipse. By next new moon, the miss will be even wider. Neptune is very close to the sun, with Mercury and Uranus are about an hour behind the sun. We might be able to see Mercury in the hour after sunset, but it's never very far above the horizon.

26. Orion isn't the only famous character in the sky these days. If you don't know the constellation Gemini well, it's worth looking to Orion's upper left as you face south. Two closely matched stars highlight this zodiac constellation, the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Pollux is the one nearer the eastern horizon in the evening and has a slight edge over its twin in the brightness category and a distinctly orange color. Castor is brilliantly blue.

28. Fabulous is the only word to describe how Venus this month. Up for nearly four hours after the sun sets, Venus has dominated the twilight sky. Because our sister world orbits the sun inside Earth's orbital circle, part of Venus' brightly lit face is turned away from Earth just when the planet is closest to us. It's a shock to look in a telescope and see that this wonderfully bright evening star is a crescent or half-lit disk.

31. When a new telescope collects its first astronomical information, that event is called "first light." This is the 53rd anniversary of the first research quality photograph taken with the great 200-inch telescope at Mount Palomar. In reality, new telescopes go through an extended shake-down period, so first light is probably a planned event. Another great telescope saw its first light (taking an image that actually looked like something) on Nov. 24 of this past year, the southern 8-meter Gemini telescope in Chile.